Byelection 2018: Innisfail-Sylvan Lake

Here's what your candidates said about three important issues.

Byelection 2018: Innisfail-Sylvan Lake

Byelection 2018: Innisfail-Sylvan Lake

Public Health Care

Albertans value public health care that is there for them when they need it, regardless of their ability to pay. Our pride in public health care does not match the reality in Alberta where private and for-profit providers still play a major role in the system. Prescription medications, continuing care, dental, vision, and even diagnostic services come at a cost to patients, with for-profit providers benefiting.

Since 2015 the NDP Government has reversed some health care privatization, such as Edmonton and Northern Alberta laboratory services, Medicine Hat laundry, and supportive living in Hinton.

Challenges remain with an unmet 2015 campaign promise to build 2,000 new public long-term care beds, and ongoing privatization through closures of public beds in communities like Sundre, Medicine Hat & Smoky Lake.

At their May 4-6 AGM, the UCP Official Opposition endorsed policy to support American style two-tier health care with a greater role for private delivery. This would fundamentally change the principles of our health care system to be driven by patient wealth instead of patient need.

Our questions on public health care were:

Do you favour expanding our public health system? If so, which services would you prioritize and how will you work as an MLA to see that happen? Or, if you favour increasing the role of the private sector, which services would you prioritize for privatization, and how would you work as an MLA to see that happen?

Do you believe that Alberta should stop the practice of privatizing and contracting out existing health care services such as diagnostic imaging and continuing care?

Alberta’s New Democrats steadfastly support a strong publicly funded, publicly delivered healthcare system. Our community had been calling on the conservatives for years to expand health care services in Sylvan Lake, and for years our community was promised better services but the conservatives never delivered. When the NDP was elected, they immediately worked to expand services, and today, we can receive a higher level of care, 16 hours a day including evening and weekends.

If elected, I will continue to work to deliver on the healthcare priorities of everyday people in Sylvan Lake, Innisfail and across central Alberta including: creating new long term care beds, expanding community paramedicine, investing in hiring new nurses and doctors for our communities. I also want to work to improve wait times, so our loved ones can get the timeliest health care services possible.

While some would slash billions out of healthcare and fire nurses just to give a $700M tax giveaway to the richest Albertans, I will keep fighting to ensure our public healthcare system is strong and well-funded.

If elected I will work with the Minister of Health and as part of a government that believes in healthcare to support and strengthen the delivery of public healthcare services. Unlike the conservatives, I’ll fight to ensure that healthcare is available to everyone, not just the very rich. We’ve seen the conservative plan for healthcare in the past – big cuts, que-jumping for their rich friends, and they even blew up a hospital. I’m running for election to ensure that the conservative plan for two-tiered American style healthcare that will hurt ordinary families never sees the light of day.

The Alberta Liberals proudly support public Health Care. We also recognize healthcare's increasing cost and a significant share of the overall budget. Instead of simply increasing or decreasing health care spending, the Alberta Liberals would look at shifting health care spending priorities by putting a greater focus on mental health and preventative care, the social determinants of health, and long-term and continuing care. We believe that doing so could improve health outcomes at less cost.

The private sector has a role to play in long-term and continuing care but not with respect to “core” health services like lab services. However, we believe that proper auditing is imperative when private contractors are involved. Both to confirm that these cost savings materialize and that health outcomes are not compromised.

“Devin and our campaign team have been very involved going door to door, talking to constituents, hearing their concerns and speaking one-on-one with voters. We feel that it is very important to make personal contact with each individual and hear their concerns directly. Devin is a very hardworking individual and in this very short time period between now and the election, it is so important to get out and talk to people. If he has not knocked on your door yet, he will be out soon and you (and those you represent who live in the constituency) will get the opportunity to speak directly to him on all important issues.”

Financing Public Services

Alberta’s spending on public services relative to our gross domestic product are consistently among the lowest in Canada.

Even during the recession, Alberta’s population has continued to grow, and the consumer price index has continued to rise.

In order to maintain the existing levels of public services, funding needs to grow every year to cover the pressures of population growth and inflation.

Otherwise AUPE members such as health care aides, educational assistants, and social workers will have to do more with less.

Yet Alberta collects the lowest revenues in the country to fund these public services. Alberta could bring in another $11 billion by adopting the tax system of the 2nd lowest province in the country, which would eliminate the deficit and put the province in a position to reinvest in improvements to public services.

After the election in 2015, the NDP Government reversed planned cuts to public services. However, their own budget projections through to 2023 show a failure to meet funding pressures from population growth and inflation, an effective cut.

At the May 4-6 AGM of the Official Opposition UCP, policies were adopted to cut taxes for wealthy Albertans and profitable corporations. This would take billions of dollars of revenue away from needed public services.

Questions were asked of the candidates:

Do you support a minimum growth in funding public services to cover increased costs from population growth and inflation pressures every year? If you favour even greater spending, in which areas, and by how much? Or, do you favour reducing spending on public services, and if so which areas will you reduce spending in and by how much?

Do you support increases to Alberta’s revenues to better fund public services, and if so in which areas and by how much? Or, do you favour tax cuts, and if so in which areas and by how much?

With Alberta's population continuing to grow, our public service plays a crucial role in delivering the services that Albertans rely on--like healthcare and education. When the price of oil collapsed, our government chose to protect these services and I am committed to making sure our loved ones get the care they need and our kids have good schools to learn in. Drastic cuts to our public services would have made a bad situation worse.

I am committed to cleaning up PC waste and making sure resources go to front-line services and not Conservative friends and insiders. For too long, the PCs had a culture of entitlement that led to scandals like the Sky Palace and taxpayer-funded golf club memberships. We'll continue to carefully and prudently find savings while working to diversify our economy.

The Alberta Liberals support a holistic view of budgeting that includes evaluating the sustainability of ongoing fiscal policy, weighing the benefit of expanding public services versus the cost of doing so, and considering the appropriate means of funding - whether raising taxes or borrowing - for any expansion of public services deemed to be worthwhile.

“Devin and our campaign team have been very involved going door to door, talking to constituents, hearing their concerns and speaking one-on-one with voters. We feel that it is very important to make personal contact with each individual and hear their concerns directly. Devin is a very hardworking individual and in this very short time period between now and the election, it is so important to get out and talk to people. If he has not knocked on your door yet, he will be out soon and you (and those you represent who live in the constituency) will get the opportunity to speak directly to him on all important issues.”

Public Sector Pensions

Public sector workers pay for their pensions in plans such as the Public Services Pension Plan and the Local Authorities Pension Plan, which provide modest retirement security for hundreds of thousands of those workers and their families. These plans operate on a secure defined benefit basis which provides workers stability through market downturns.

The impressive health of both of those plans has led to recent reductions in the premiums paid.

Despite the contributions from those workers to their plans, they do not have a say in how they are run.

The NDP Government has yet to introduce legislation or regulation which would improve pension governance so that both employer and employee would have control over the plans.

Members of the Official Opposition UCP supported a policy proposed to their AGM calling for public sector pension “reform” with language similar to that used by former Premier Allison Redford to justify her attempt to weaken retirement security for workers who pay into their public sector pension plan.

AUPE asked the candidates:

Do you support legislation or regulation to provide joint governance of public sector pension plans so that workers can have a say in managing their retirement security? If so, what would you do as MLA to see that happen?

Do you support any “reform” of public sector pension plans such as moving new hires to a separate defined contribution plan? Or, do you believe the defined benefit nature of the plans should remain?

Alberta workers built this province and they deserve to retire in dignity. I support the joint governance of public sector pension plans and I will work hard as an MLA with the Ministry of Finance to make sure this happens.

All workers contribute to their pension plan, all workers should benefit from it. To divide benefits based on when they are hired causes many issues and starts a race to the bottom. It doesn't matter if you were hired 20 years ago or just last week, your pension should be there for you when you retire.

The Alberta Liberals support both employee and employer representation in pension plan governance.

The Alberta Liberals recognize that an ageing membership, rising longevity, low-interest rates and other adverse economic conditions pose a challenge to the financial health of public sector pension plans. Given, however, that different plan types and implementations involve trade-offs between member cost, retirement stability, and intergenerational equity, any “reform” must be carefully considered and include proper stakeholder consultation.

“Devin and our campaign team have been very involved going door to door, talking to constituents, hearing their concerns and speaking one-on-one with voters. We feel that it is very important to make personal contact with each individual and hear their concerns directly. Devin is a very hardworking individual and in this very short time period between now and the election, it is so important to get out and talk to people. If he has not knocked on your door yet, he will be out soon and you (and those you represent who live in the constituency) will get the opportunity to speak directly to him on all important issues.”